There’s nothing average about it! “When your

dreams are put on hold for the pursuit of revenge, you soon discover there’s

more to life than you previously could see.”- Hyphen.                                                     The two brothers had no

way of knowing what fate awaited them and their friends as the dust settled

over the rubble on July 2nd, 2022, but they could be sure of one thing, their

days on the side-lines were over.

Thunder fell, as fists clashed with swords

high up in the sky.

  There might have been more to it than that

actually, perfectly timed counters and devastating strikes the likes of which

could bring down deities – but to them, it was just flashing streaks of light

followed by earthquake like tremors and the occasional stray energy wave

“How did it come to

this.” he wondered while standing in the rubble of what used to be the

neighbourhood he called home – looking up at the sky, trying to catch a glimpse

of his father’s devastating power – and the man foolish enough to challenge

him.

19

hours ago…..

  It was pitch black as the alarm clock rung waking Damien up from his slumber.

  With a loud grunt off dissatisfaction, he lazily slapped the snooze button and attempted to

go back to sleep – but he could still hear the ringing. Try as he may to ignore

it, the sound eventually became too irritating for even him to sleep through.

  Finally giving in, he arose, opening his eyes to search for the source of his

irritation.

  The bright light from the early morning sun peered in from behind the window lace and reflected off

his eyes, deepening the grey hue of his irises. On a normal day, he would have

used his long blue hair to shield his eyes from this annoying celestial body,

but today, his grievances were with another evil, one that dared to disturb his

rest - but still, the light beaming in was so strong that he couldn’t resist

but to close just one eye, the left, as he rose from his bed and began to look

around his room.

“Well there’s no way I’m going back to bed now.” He thought to himself as his eye glanced

over everything in the room, from the top drawer in the closet, to the stands

on the dresser and the tiny space under the couch, but he still couldn’t see

what was making that noise.

  He then had an idea. He proceeded to close his remaining eye and listen for the sound, and

to his surprise it worked. He could now get a clearer picture of where it was

coming from – It was under his bed. With a reluctant expression, he opened both

eyes, got down on his knees and reached underneath, pulling out a cherry red

alarm clock with a note attached to its face.

He pealed of the note to reveal the time was 5 o’clock in the morning, and on the

note it read

‘Wakey

wakey dumbass, hurry up getting dressed and come down for breakfast quick, I’m

not missing out on today because of your dusty ***.

-Your

misfortunate fraternal twin, Conner

P.S,

mom said if you’re late she’s eating your bacon’

“Couldn’t I have been born into a normal family!?”

He grunted aloud as both his palms ignited in a golden-orange blaze, melting

the alarm clock, and burning the note in the process. “Sigh! Guess I needed a

bath anyway.” Stating reluctantly, as he stood up and began to undress,

extinguishing the flames and whipping the molten metal sludge from the alarm

clock onto his night stand.

  After what seemed to be a very quick and thorough hot shower, he emerged from the far

right door in the corner of his room, clade in a towel that barely hung by his

waist but still managed to extenuate his thin toned muscular build, as he tied

the back of his hair into a ban and made his way to the in-wall closet that was

parallel to the foot of his bed. Upon wiping himself down, he put on his: black

low rise jeans, grey camouflage hooded vest, white trainers and black hooded

blazer. Proceeding to pack three books and a street skate board into his back

pack. As he made his way out of his room and locked the door, he veered down

the left hall to the downward stair case where he could hear some chatter from

the kitchen below, accompanied by the sounds of pot lids bashing into each

other.

“What are you doing now?” Their father Christopher

sighed with a disappointed look on his face. Besides being a tall and thinly

muscular man, he was dressed in: a white long-sleeved body fit checked dress

shirt, a long black tie, a pair of low-rise black dress pants that hung

slightly above his black high-topped trainers with a white sole, a silver

analogue wrist watch, and a pair of black colorimetric glasses over his

coral-blue irises, that complimented the three white streaks that ran across

the sides of his short black hair. “I thought I taught you better stealth

tactics than that!?” He continued, faming shock and further disappointment.

“Come on babe cut him some slack. I mean it’s not

like he’s intentionally trying to shame his ancestors with those mediocre

tactical abilities.” Monica, their mother, snickered with a spatula in her left

hand as she tried to hold back her laughter. She was dressed in: a short

black-topped flower patterned dress that barely reached her knees as it

complimented her long and curvy hour glass figure, a pair of standard white

trainers, white knee high socks, a trinket around her neck, with a white

diamond patterned kitchen apron that hung around her waist, pulling the whole

look together with her long light green hair that was tied into a ponytail -

putting her beautiful hazel eyes on full display. “Are you sure he’s really

your son?” she said as she snickered more.

“I mean I hope so, otherwise I pity the future of

this gene pool.” Christopher replied cynically, hiding his grinning face behind

the newspaper he was reading.

“Hey spare me the third degree alright; and I

thought parents were supposed to be proud when their kid’s a terrible thief!!!”

An angry Conner, who had a similar build to his brother, remarked facing both

his parents with a fiery expression on his face, as he proceeded to use his

left arm to grab the lid of the pan on the stove and lift a strip of bacon off

it with his right. He wore a: grey body fit zip-up hoodie that had a long white

stripe that ran down from his shoulders to the bottom of the jersey making it

appear as though the grey sides were just attached. A pair of grey low-rise

track pants, a brown checked body fit dress shirt, black high-top trainers, a

digital smart watch on his left wrist, and a gold letter bracelet on his right

that matched the golden hue of his irises and read ‘Tundra.’

  Without so much as a word, Monica immediately walked up to Conner and proceeded to take

the bacon out of his hand, returning the strip to the pan and covered it up

with the kitchen towel that was resting on her right shoulder, along with the

spatula she gripped in her left palm. “Not in this family kid,” she said

ecstatically as she messed her fingers through his short spikey red hair, with

her light hazel eyes fixed to his, “I mean how can we expect you to infiltrate

a military strong hold if you can’t even get passed the defences of a cooking

pot?!!” she laughed it off as Conner’s gaze grew dimer and fixed on her waist

apron.

“Hey I spent all morning on this!!” Conner struggled

animatedly as he snapped back to his senses and tried to take her fingers out

as they wedged between his roots. “Besides, I thought I told you guys that I’m

not interested in moving up to the Opps,” he muttered in a sombre tone, “I’m

much better suited for the ‘Syndicate Division’ y’know.”

“Oh my,” Monica remarked sarcastically, placing her

left arm on her chin, “First your brother and now you; It’s like my sons are

dead set on not following in their wonderful mothers footsteps; Next your

sister will tell me she’s dropping out of the ‘Opps Division’ training program!

All this stress could kill me you know.’ she said sombrely, having the sincere

moment broken by the sinister grin she gave off right after.

“Good riddance!!!” Christopher yelled as he put down

the newspaper and sipped his piping hot cup of coffee – baring no regard to the

heavy steam that fogged up his lenses as he exhaled negatively. “Sigh!! Your

coffee’s always way too cold; It’s like your intentionally trying to give me a

cold.” he remarked in a stuffy voice as he sneezed intensely.

“Uhmm dad, your cups like low-key burning hot. Plus

a cold’s caused by a virus so there’s no way you’d get sick so quickly!!!!” Conner

yelled passionately whilst faming disgust, as he pointed to the bubbling steam

that rose from Christopher’s cup. “You too are something else,” he muttered as

he began to chuckle in amusement, “Oh and that reminds me, shouldn’t Norah be

done with training by now?” he asked in a semi-concerned tone as he eased his

laughter.

  Maintaining a sickly vocal pattern, Christopher proceeded to take on a more authoritative

tone as he replied to Conner’s inquiry. “Well she should’ve been back two days

ago actually,” he stated calmly as his gaze fixed towards Monica, who was

clearing the dishes on the table with an evilly satisfied grin on her face,

“Honey?! What did you do?!” he asked as the fear of an answer turned him pale.

  Monica scoffed as if to emphasize her shock on

the matter. “Bold of you to assume I had anything to do with it,” she uttered

defensively as she slowly placed the dishes in the sink, “I mean all I did was

let her instructors know that if they didn’t put in the extra effort, then

they’d be the ones in the trainees shoes next time,” she mumbled gleefully as

she turned back to face him, “How was I supposed to predict what they’d take

away from that?” she stated, looking increasingly devilish with each passing

moment.

   At that point, both Conner and Christopher

were huddled by the farthest corner of the kitchen table, with the look of

absolute terror plastered all over their faces.

  But then, just as if on cue, Damien walked into

the room, quickly dropping his back pack by the door next to Conner’s as he

made a straight B-line for the pans on the stove, successfully braking the

tension in the room, albeit unintentionally. “Let me guess, mom was acting like

a she-devil again wasn’t she?” he remarked, as if unfazed by the thought as he

bit into a piece of toast.

 “Uhun uhun,” Conner and Christopher remarked in unisons with a fearful gulp, “She’s gone too

far this time, and none of us are safe anymore!!”

“Well that’s the fear of women for you,” Damien

remarked as his expression remained unchanged, “You know you two should be

glad; at least nobody died this time.”

  Hearing that, the two were then able to take

in a deep breath and breathe a sigh of relief as they began to collect their

thoughts. “You’re probably right!” the two uttered in unisons

“We just let our imaginations get the best of us; I

mean it’s not like she’d ever intentionally try to hurt any of us right?!!”

Christopher said as his reassurance turned pessimistic and the room drew

quieter.

  A few moments of silence went by as the

realization dawned of everybody’s heads and their faces went cold from the

revelation.

“Well I’m sure she’d like to keep the witness count

to a minimum at least!” Damien stated optimistically as he broke through the

ice. The comment led to a large burst of heavy laughter from everyone present

as the tense atmosphere was replaced by a livelier wind.

“You know you’re the only one in this family who

gets me these days,” Monica muttered sombrely and enthusiastically as she wiped

a joyful tear off her right cheek and proceeded to collect herself, “So what

gives, you’re never down so early you know. I thought you’d choose to do the

whole morning isolationist loner vibe thing until at least about 6:30?” she

said with a sarcastic and exaggerated gasp, as she bent back to rinse the

dishes in the warm water from the faucet. “Don’t tell me your 17th birthday has got you re-evaluating your terrible life choices,” she mumbled

sincerely, whipping the water from her hands onto her apron in an almost

frantic-like manner, as she placed the back of her right palm on his forehead,

“Wait you’re not sick are you; cause this definitely isn’t like the idiot I

raised?!” She stated as she mocked him in a genuinely comforting tone.“I’m fine mom! Some numb skull just decided to hide

a bunch of beeping molten sludge under my bed!!!” Damien yelled, glaring

daggers in Conner’s direction as he lightly bumped Monica’s hand off his

forehead with a flick of his right wrist.

“Nah I’m pretty sure I left my favourite clock under

there!?” Conner remarked proudly with an air of confusion in his tone.

“Oh I was speaking in the present tense! The melting

was an extra feature I added this morning, thought you might like it,” Damien

snakingly remarked with an air of cockiness as he held direct eye contact with

Conner from across the room. He proceeded to ignite the entirety of his upper

right wrist in his golden-like orange flame, following which the flames concentrated

and compressed into three miniature balls that he began to twirl in and out of

the spaces between the fingers on his right hand, “No need to be grateful!!”

  Consumed by the anger from that blatant attempt to threaten him, Conner’s entire demeanour darkened,

completely loosing himself in his rage as he smacked the table with his right

hand and stood violently to face his brother. Without even so much as a word to

address the high tension in the air, he outstretched his open left palm and

fired off a thick burst of frost in Damien’s direction. The blast was strong,

so much so that it pushed Damien back a few centimetres as it struck his right

hand and completely encased his fire marbles in a thin but strong layer of ice,

freezing them through slowly as they fell to the floor and shattered. But even

so, despite destroying something his older brother valued in retaliation, it

still couldn’t close the flood gates that held back his rage. “You asshole!! What

kind of sorry excuse for a twin even does that!! ?!!!” Conner yelled out with a

deep tone of frustration, as a cold mist began to leak from his body and filled

a small radius around him.

“Bloody e’l!!” Damien grunted hollow eyed through his clenched jaws as his arms flexed then ignited from the elbow down, blasting

apart the ice that encased them as the sheer intensity from the heat he emitted

flash boiled the cold water that sat in the pot on the countertop behind him.

With a demonic smile that barely hide his bloodlust behind the steam that drew

from its teeth, he stared Conner down as the two clashed fists at the centre of

the room in the blink of an eye – and got pushed back by the resulting cyclonic

forces that brought Conner to one knee, but left Damien standing hunched

forward as his hair covered his face and barely visible white streaks began to

flicker from the corners of his eyes. “The kind that doesn’t converse with the

dead.” Damien spoke gently in a tone void of emotion in response to Conner’s

earlier assertion, as the two temperature extremes they were imposing generated

a suction current in the space between them that pulled in any loose light

objects, including Christopher’s newspaper, as the strong wind tunnels shredded

it on sight leaving flakes behind as he grew distraught.

  Monica watched on with pride as the scene grew even more chaotic by each passing

moment, only looking phased when Christopher appeared between the two and

smacked them on the backs of their heads extinguishing the tension – to which

she promptly frowned. “Kill joy!” Monica scowled cross armed to Christopher in

a childish manner as the after image left of him in his seat dissipated.

“I know it’s your birthday and you’re exited; but if

you break anything; I will make sure you each get an assignment so horrible

you’ll remember it on your death beds,” Christopher stated begrudgingly, as he

tried to hide his annoyance with a hollow smile, “So are we in agreement to get

along?!”

“Ugh; He started it!!” Damien and Conner remarked

simultaneously as they glared daggers at one another.

“Just do it!” Christopher insisted as he squeezed

the bridge of his nose with his left hand.

“But it’s my birthday so he has to--” Conner

remarked arrogantly.

“Hey genius it’s my birthday too y’know; plus I’m

older!” Damien interjected as his unfazed demeanour returned.

 “You’re

twins; none of you is older!” Christopher stated at his wits end.

“That’s not possible!!” Conner yelled assertively.

“Says the jackass who shoots frost from his body!!”

Damien yelled back with a notable irritation.

“Since when do low-budget match sticks get an

opinion!!” Conner responded angrily as the cold air around him dissipated.

“Shut it; both of you; now shake hands and make up

already you’ll be late!!!” Christopher remarked, conveying complete and utter

authority.

“Fine!!!” Damien and Conner shouted in unisons as

they glared away from each other and reluctantly shook hands.

“Good.” Christopher said softly as his smile grew

even wider. “So how are you two idiots planning on getting to school?” he asked

as he blitzed back down to his seat before their eyes can even register what

happened.

“Well the guys were pretty adamant about us taking

the bus today; so I doubt if we’d have time to come pick up the vehicles and

still make it to the ‘R3K’ in time.” Conner stated pessimistically as he strapped

on his blue shoulder bag and tossed a Damien, who was placing his dishes in the

sink, his own – catching it with excellent precision as he placed through one

strap and used his free left hand to grab an apple off the table as he blitzed

passed Conner.

“Wait; I thought Luke was still at his aunts?”

Damien enquired, stopped midway through the living room doorway as he bit into

the apple and adjusted the strap length of his bag.

“Yeah but she’s out on a ‘Carrera Division’

assignment, so Luke’s bunking with Gerard and his older brother right now.”

Conner clarified as he pulled a metal comb out of his pocket and attempted to

correct the damage his mother had created earlier.

“And the girls will be taking their Division Placements

tests today rights; Ha-ha, so I guess their preoccupied for a while hunh!!” Damien

chuckled with a nervous yet exited grin and a sparkle in his now widened eyes.

“Oh no need to worry about that!!” Christopher

yelled ecstatically, now speaking in his normal voice with a very satisfied

grin pasted on his face, “I had all events on the organization's calendar

postponed till next week! After all, I can’t have my son pass up his only

chance to ask the girl he likes out now can I?!!; plus it’s the only civil day

your school gave you this semester so I figured you’d wanna impress her with

your newly improved fashion sense!!” He said as he patted Damien on the back

enthusiastically to convey assurance while he stretched out his left arm for a

big thumbs up. “Go get her kiddo!!”

  As if on the

same wavelength, Monica then started to dance hysterically in place as she

rubbed her shoulders and put on an extremely lustful expression that complimented

the hot vapour that rung from her long deep breathes. “Oh my, Grand babies;

Ha-ha-ha; the thought alone is enough to make you wanna--!!!”

“It’s not like that ok!!” Damien interjected as his

face turned redder than a ripe tomato, “And stop being so perverted for once;

you’re my mom for freaks sake!!!” he continued to scold her as the redness in

his face focused on his cheeks and his tone grew mellower, “I was just

wondering if we’d need to add them to any plans for today that’s all.”

“Right?!!!” Monica, Christopher and Conner yelled in

unified disbelief as their unapologetic expressions left Damien dumbfounded.

“Yeah, well what do u know anyway hunh; one of you

is about to get dumped anyway so!!!?” Damien yelled fiercely as the

embarrassment on his face was as clear as day.

“Hey, me and her are all good!!” Conner yelled back

defensively.

“I meant Dad idiot!! Mom’s way too good for him!”

Damien remarked as his embarrassment faded way – though his expression still

seemed to be heightened. Probably due to the news he had just received.

“Of course she is!” Christopher responded as he

kissed Monica’s forehead and walked back into the kitchen, an action that left

a slight blush on her ecstatic face.

“Sigh; and that’s our queue to step!!” Damien said to

Conner suggestively as his eyes rolled and he slowly dragged his right hand

from the fore to the back of his head, revealing the deep contrast in his eyes

that hide behind his long locks.

“Fi-n-ne!!” Conner dragged as he followed suite

behind him, relishing in his brothers recent shame as they both stepped out the

door and onto the concrete porch. “Aright, see you guys tonight!” he yelled

back to Monica as he made his way down the steps, who stood at the living room entrance

with a confused expression on her face.

“Wait but aren’t you supposed to come pick up the

rides after class at 2?!” Monica asked, as she looked very baffled.

“Nah, Dad texted and said he’d have them delivered!

So; I guess we can make the start of most of the onetime events at 4:30!!”

Conner optimistically yelled back in a hurry as he rushed to catch up to Damien

who had already made it to the fence.

“Alright then, take care of yourselves; and try not

to die!!!!!” Monica called out waving goodbye as she placed her left arm on her

cheek and gave off an air of parental pride as she watched Damien walk onto the

side walk and Conner chase after him.

“We gotta pick up Dean first so; no promises!!!”

Damien yelled facing down the street with an unfazed expression, as he pulled

his right arm out of his pocket and waved it in the air to signalled goodbye as

they walked out of view.

:

:

:

:

  The door barely made a sound as Monica placed her arms and back on it, leaning slowly as

she gave off a sigh of relief. It was finally time for her and Christopher to

converse in private – but the dead silence that filled the room was enough to

signal that it wouldn’t be a happy discussion.

“So are we gonna talk about--?” Monica enquired

heartedly in an inquisitive tone just as she was cut off by Christopher.

“Of all days, why’d he have to show up on the one

where I’m too tied up to help you!!?” Christopher mumbled out softly in

interjection, as a blood curdling amount of rage began to pour out from his eye

balls, causing the veins in his sclera to bulge as slight tremors began to run

down his right arm – he grabbed his long black trench coat off the back of the

kitchen door and made his way into the living room.

  Monica took a sigh of relief and slowly approached him as she sensed his tension build,

leaning in and wrapping her arms around his neck – as she stared deeply into

his eyes, causing his arm to stop shaking and his rage to die down. “Listen it

couldn’t be helped, you have to debrief with the High-table and I so happened

to be the only ‘General’ available for the task. Plus it’s my division so; have

some faith that it’ll all work out, ok!” She said in a reassuring tone with an

air of confidence as she pulled her arms back and placed her hands on the sides

of his face.

“You’re right! And I do trust that you’ll be able to do this,” Christopher said with an air of seriousness as he placed his hands

over hers, giving off an empty smile as he slowly pulled them off his faces and

gave her a kiss on the forehead, leaving her partially surprised as he leaned

down to grab his briefcase and proceeded to utter, “That being said, if

anything goes south, just pull everybody back and call me, I’ll be there in a

heartbeat--”

  Monica attempted to interject, but was unable to get a word in past Christopher’s high

conviction.

“-- Cause this time, I’ll make sure I kill him myself.’ He said, getting to an upright position as a blue flame ignited from

his feet and engulfed him in seconds, creating the impression of his body

turning to ash from the bottom going up and vanishing as the flames dissipated

upwards.

 With everyone gone, Monica was left skulking in an empty room, as she watched the scorch

marks Christopher had left behind on the white living room tiles slowly but

surely disappear.

“I swear I won’t let you escape me this time you bustard!” Monica mumbled aggressively to herself over her clenched jaw, as the

rage that filled her depths began to bubble over and project itself outside of

her body, appearing blood red as its sheer intensity caused cracks to form

along the tops and bottoms of the walls that surrounded her. “Oh my, I better

cover this up before anyone sees.” She said in a random shift of personality,

as her expression suddenly became unnervingly sunny – following which she made

her way to the living room television display and pulled a picture frame out from

underneath that seemed to be of her, Cristopher, as well as two other figures –

dusting it off as she hung it next to the formal family portrait they took when

the boys were still a bit younger, about 7 or 8 years of age. “There! Good as

new!” She said still maintaining a sunny disposition as she stared deeply at

one figure in the photo whose face could not be made out clearly – but one

thing was clear, it was definitely taken during a happier time as the figure

appeared to be twirling around, her long blue floral patterned dress waving in

the wind with its frills and slits along each side, complimenting her long dark

hair as well as the two golden streaks that ran parallel along it. “I wonder? Would

you have done things differently??? If it was you that got to live instead of me,

could you have changed it?” She pondered, speaking to the photo as her

expression turned somber – when the cell phone in her pocket began to vibrate,

snapping her back to her senses as she was wiped away her tears and answered it.

“Yeah sure; Let them know we’re having it at 2’o clock; Oh and Sarah! Keep the quote

on quote accidents to a minimum this time!!”

“the

power of friendship”- Various.

  The sounds

of birds and distant vehicle filled the air, as Damien and Conner made their

way down the street.

  They seemed to both be lost in their own

worlds. With Damien being immersed in his music. And Conner tapping away on his

screen making plans for the party later that day. It was clear that the outside

world didn’t matter to either one of them – especially after they walked passed

a large tree that sat in the middle of the road, where a half-asleep Dean was

seated, dossing off as he awaited their arrival.

  Dean’s look that morning was simple but

effective, as it matched his shorter yet toned body type efficiently. He had:

short spiky grey hair that was trimmed on its sides and grey eyes, similar in

colour to those of Damien’s, that glistened in the early morning sunlight, with

his crisp dark blue shirt, red hooded jumper, black skin tight cargo pants,

black trainers and a single gold chain around his neck, with the ones around

his wrists being double looped, helping to amplify the look of exhaustion on

his face. In an effort to stay wake by zipping in and out of sleep, he gained

consciousness long enough to spot the two walk on adjacent sides of the street

as they passed him.

“Sap ladies!” Dean sleepily muttered

enthusiastically to grab their attention. An act that stopped them dead in

their tracks as he rose to his feet and gave them both a lazy fist bump,

extending Damien’s greeting with a pullback that ended in a high five. “So what

brings you outta hibernation so early? Isn’t this the time you spend hyping

yourself up to bomb in front of Stacy?!” He asked with an air of exhaustion

while he stretched up and down to relieve the stress in his cracking joints.

  Hearing the

claim for the second time that day, Damien decided to simply brush it off.

However, the implicit look on Dean’s face as Conner tried to hold in his

laughter was enough to trigger a long scowl – but unfortunately for him, it

only helped to fan the flames of their amusement.

  Dean and Conner became hysterical as Damien’s

attempts to hide his irritation only made it that much funnier. His defensive

nature and attempts to prevent a blush were all too irresistible, making it

very apparent that something needed to be done.

  With a yank

of his headphone jack, Damien pulled the sets from his ears and attempted to

use the cord to try and whip the sense back into the both of them. But this

only led to an increase the duo’s hysterics as each time he swung, his swings

lacked effort and force.

“I’d cut that out of I were you!!!” Damien spouted authoritatively

in a calm but disgruntled tone, as he tried to regain his composure and began adjusting

his blazer out of embarrassment.

“Make me dweeb!” Dean yelled in response as he ran

up to Damien and used his right hand to mess through his hair, in an effort to

trigger an even more amusing response.

“Zip it pest!” Damien remarked in his usual unfazed

tone as he stretched his right arm out to his side, spawned a weak fireball,

and flicked it in Dean’s face – causing the tips of the hair that hung over his

forehead to slightly scorch.

  Dean

squirmed anxiously in fear as he quickly pulled Damien’s arm down in an attempt

to hide it. “You idiot! What if someone see’s; do you wanna end up on ‘D.E.A.D’s’

raider?!! …’ He whispered frantically in a muffled tone as Damien and Conner

exaggeratedly rolled their eyes to the side.

“Relax man, all that time alone in your room at night’s

got you stressing. This entire neighborhood is owned by and populated with

members of the ‘C.O.R.E ‘remember!” Damien smugly replied as he pulled his arm

back and turned around to face them, continuing along the route in reverse.

“Yeah but!--” Dean insisted.

“But nothing; they’re all out on assignments anyways

so their homes are pretty much empty. Hence there’s no need to stress about it

bruh!” Damien asserted in his interjection, as he maintained his smug yet

laid-back demeanor.

“I hate to agree with the numbskull but he’s right

you know; no stress my guy!” Conner stated reluctantly, as he too began to pace

in reverse, mimicking Damien’s stance as they both faced a still agitated Dean

with suggestive expressions.

  Finally giving in, Dean decided to embrace the

mood instead, as he shrugged off his concerns and followed suite. “In that

case; since we’re in Rome!” He uttered as his expression turned sinister and he

quickly dashed between the two – as he delivered a heavy slap to their backs.

The force stunned through their bodies, as the strong pulse resonated around

within them and planted their butts firmly on the tar mark in rapid succession.

But just as they seemed to be through the worst, he made a cone with his palms

and yelled through it, as a strong shock was sent through the air and nearly

deafened the two.

“What the hell man; you could’ve hurt somebody!!!!”

Damien yelled agitatedly as he rubbed his ear to restore his hearing.

“But there’s nobody around dummy!!” Dean yelled back

sarcastically to mock him, “It’s not my fault you guys can’t take the smoke!!”

He stated as he taunted them with a childish grin.

“Yeah bit me!!” Conner spouted aggressively,

determined to punish Dean as he rose to his feet and began to chase him up the

street, as Damien zoned out because of the ringing.

“Hey save some for me!!” Damien yelled out as he

came to his senses and followed behind.

  Two boys

approached from the opposite direction, Luke and Gerard, as they slowly made

their way down, seemingly headed to the tree where the duo had encountered Dean.

The two seemed to be lost in a conversation of their own, blissfully unaware of

the chaos that would ensue as Damien, Dean and Conner raced towards them.

  Appearance

wise, Gerard was built thoroughly, with an impressively muscular physique. He

had light blue eyes and a fair complexion. He was dressed in a pair of baggy

blue pants that tightened by the ankles, a baggy red sports vest, red high

tops, a sleek silver analogue watch on his right arm, and a grey fedora that covered

the majority of his flowing black hair – leaving the rest to drop down along

his neck.

  Whereas Luke

on the other hand, was decked out in a more formal attire that clung to his

athletic form. As his red eyes and medium length blond hair resonated well with

the white trainers and snug fit suite that pulled his outfit together.

Additionally, a red bandana hung from his waist, circling around it as its longest

end dropped to his knees – finishing off the look with the two black headed red-rings

he wore on each index finger.

“Help me out here guys!!! These losers have finally

lost it!!!!!” Dean cried out frantically at the top of his lungs to Luke and

Gerard as he came into view and rushed to take cover behind them.

  The two opted

to spread their arms out in anticipation for the approaching threat – but to their

dismay, the only things that came into view were an angered Damien and Conner,

who seemed to be on the war path.

“What did you do this time pipsqueak?!” Luke uttered

as he turned back to Dean and towered over him. His disappointment was immense,

as he watched Dean cower behind them in fear.

“Hey bold of you to assume this is my fault!!” Dean

yelled back defensively.

“Since when is it never!?” Luke countered, as he

pressed his index and middle fingers to his own temple and let out a heavy sigh.

Though he wasn’t one for outbursts, the action helped to sooth his heightened

state of tension.

“Hey I’m serious!!! Those two just went batshit on

me for no reason at all!!” Dean replied forcefully as he tried to victimize

himself. “I’m the victim here!!” he cried out as he rose to his feet and

pointed to Damien and Conner to distract them as he attempted to run off – but unfortunately

for him, Gerard saw the escape coming and caught him by the collar, lifting him

off the ground and stopping him dead in his tracks as he tried to squirm for

freedom.

“Right?!!” Gerard exhaled sceptically as he watched

him flail and squirm, as he hung inches from the ground, gripped in his left

arm and unable to get down, “And the victim is running away because??” he asked

politely as Dean tried to avoid direct eye contact with him, which inevitably

led to Gerard shaking him so violently that he unexpectedly fell unconscious. Although

he was concerned at first, he grew irritated by what he thought was an attempt

to evade punishment and resorted to take his anger out on Dean’s now

unresponsive body. He shook his body harder and harder in an effort to revive

him, as everybody present stood back and watched with blank expressions, trying

their best not to intervene and get caught in the cross hairs. “Hey numbskull!!

Wake up!!” he yelled vexingly before tossing him away like how one would treat

a crumpled up piece of paper they intended to discard. With the throw gaining

an impressive ten metres in height, as he fell into a nearby tree. “Weak!!” Gerard

sighed off as he started to dramatically pick his nose and flick the mucus

balls around.

  The

unconscious Dean hung upside down from the top of the tree dazed and

unresponsive, as the brunches that held his body began to creek and break.

“Well damn, that’s just brutal,” Conner stated bluntly

in an impressed demeanour as he stared at Dean’s current predicament, “Hey!!!

You ok??!!!” he yelled out with no response.

“Wow!! You know sometimes I forget how strong you actually

are!” Luke chuckled as he scratched his head in disbelief, “So what do you

think D!? Doesn’t that set the record?” He asked optimistically to a

disgruntled Damien who had his back to them, nudging him repeatedly in an

effort to get a response.

“No it doesn’t ok!!” Damien begrudgingly responded,

his gaze lost on the ground as the fire in his eyes turned passionate. “And

besides!! I was supposed to set the new record! Not cool man!!!” he yelled as

he pointed at a seemingly uninterested Gerard who shrugged him off.

  As a shock

to no one, Gerard only escalated the situation further. As he found the moment

of weakness from the otherwise un-phased Damien irresistibly hilarious. The

thought of slowing whilst he was ahead was one he could not accept, milking his

triumph as he pulled a toothpick from his pocket and stuck it in his mouth

whilst he relaxed with his arms crossed behind his head – egging on Damien’s

rage with a hundred percent effectiveness. “Awwr! Is the birthday boy upset?!

You know; I could have thrown him further if I didn’t hold back!!” Gerard

remarked with a cocky smirk as his response threw Conner into an uncontrollable

laughing fit, as the interaction triggered a short but aggressive outburst of a

dense aura that burst out from Damien’s back.

  Despite not

causing any actual harm to any of the boys present, the ferocity of the aura

was still on another level, as it seemed to consume the life from the plants it

came into contact with. Its darkness seemed to cancel the light that penetrated

it, and its viscosity meant nothing could be seen beyond it. But just as it

seemed to appear, it vanished, as what seemed to be a glitter on his chest and

the clench of his jaw completely nullified it – without leaving a single trace.

As the only people to notice it happening were Dean and Luke, who acted as

though it was a normal occurrence and paid it no tribute.

“So that’s the cap you’re going with hunh?!!” Luke

sceptically yelled out in an attempt to defuse the tension of the situation, “We

all know it was a fluke!! And besides, the rules of Idiot Toss clearly state

that only brute strength alone is permitted; but I bet if we bring ‘The Noise Machine’

down, then we’ll definitely find some traces of sand and earth on him!” he

uttered with even more scepticism as he conveyed both authority and confidence,

“You know; unless you’re scared that is?!.....” he added on as he walked closer

and whispered into his ear – giving him the exact result he desired.

  Though it soothed his ego, Gerard mistakenly gave

in to the intentionally insulting request. He let his pride take over, letting

out a deep sigh of dissatisfied compliance as he clapped his palms together and

held the stance at chest height.

  Waves of a brown-orange

like aura with slight traces of sediment particles enveloped Gerard’s lower

wrists, as it completely encased his hands in the thin tentacle like energy

coating. His eyes darkened, as the light blue hue of his irises turned

neon-brown just as he stretched his arms outward in a grabbing-like motion.

  The group

observed as the atmosphere around Gerard drew thicker and sharper, as the

multitude of micro-dust particles that laid the environment around them began

to swarm in response to his actions. A large dust cloud formed from the swirl

in less than a second, taking on a vivid appearance that heavily resemble human

arms, as the appendages seemed to originate from his back and grew to a six-foot

margin. Without so much as a word, Gerard grunted, as the out stretching motions

he made were mimicked by the extra appendages, enabling him to pick Dean’s

unconscious body from the tree and set it on the ground with relative ease. “Sigh!!

There! You happy now?!!” Gerard asked pessimistically, facing Luke as the

sediment that orbited his body dissipated outwards – as his eyes and aura slowly

returned to normal.

   However, Gerard’s satisfaction would be quite

a ways off, as Luke only gave off a smile in response. Strongly relishing in

the realization that the ploy he had wagered on and succeeded at helped feed

his sense of superiority. With the slight left-tilt of his head, he gave off a

satisfied grin that made his success feel all the more, sweeter. “Very!” he

remarked sadistically in response, as the direct eye contact the two shared

made Gerard realise the position he had willingly placed himself in.

  Conner on

the other hand, was not concerned with the formalities of the game, as the

anger that blistered with in him earlier took hold as he stepped forward. Still

feeling irritated by the whole thing, Conner approached Dean’s body, kicking

him lightly in the gut to turn him over and angle his face to the sky. “Hey

idiot; wake up!!” he grunted over his teeth nihilistically as he proceeded to

step on Dean’s face. “C’mon, we all know you’re not out cold; so hurry up and

move or we’ll be late!!” he stated as he ground his foot in harder.

“Can’t we just leave him here?!” Gerard sighed

expressing his annoyance with the situation, as he shrugged his shoulders,

slung his backpack, and began to walk away.

“Hey a**hole; where do you think you’re running off

to?!! Don’t forget this is all your fault to begin with! You wake him up!!!!”

Luke insisted aggressively as he grabbed a hold of Gerard’s backpack and lifted

him off the ground.

  Meanwhile,

Conner grew more inpatient as his efforts to awake Dean drew fruitless, leading

him to succumb to his rage as his eyes turned neon-blue and a deep-blue frosty

aura began to emerge from his clenched fists and curdled breathe. It turned the

air around him colder and darker, as the moisture on the tar mark slowly began

to harden and freeze into ice.

“Let’s just incinerate him and take the ashes to

school instead; I mean it’s not like they’ll be much of a difference anyway?!”

Damien suggested, rolling his eyes as he clenched his fists and cracked his

knuckles.

“No way!! I already called dibs on this one!!”

Conner spout back defensively in response to the suggestion as he rapidly fired

out ice shards from the palm of his outstretched right arm, faster than the eye

could see, in Damien’s direction.

  For a moment

though, it was as if Damien was blinked away. He seemed to vanish as though

somebody had quickly flicked a light switch off and on. His presence faded off

as quickly as it reappeared, as when he returned, all the projectile shards that

had been sent at him were held firmly in his left arm. They stopped inches from

penetrating his chest and piercing his heart, as he seemed to appear unfazed by

the whole ordeal – noted by his right hand tucked into his trousers and the air

of minimal effort he gave off. “Hunh fine; we’ll kill him together then!!”

Damien grunted whilst he attempted to suppress his rath, as his eyes turned

deep neon-crimson and the sweat that dropped from his brow vaporized. With the

heat that emanated from his appendages being enough to scorch the ends of his

jacket and pants. “We go on 1! 3; 2; --!” he counted as his elevated right fist

was enveloped in a thick dark golden-like orange flame.

  But just before

the countdown could be completed, Dean jolted to his feet and threw himself into

the air in an attempt to make a quick escape – were it not for his plans being

thwarted by Luke, who took to singlehandedly lifting him off the ground by the

back of his collar to pacify him.

  With Dean in

his right hand and Gerard in the left, Luke let out a deep sigh of relief, as

the opposing factors to their progress had thoroughly been neutralized. “Sigh; finally,

we can now get a move on!”

“Hey put me down; this isn’t fair!!!” Dean insisted

as he tried to get free of Luke’s hold.

“And whose fault is that I wonder?!!!” Luke replied

ferociously with no hesitation, taking no time whatsoever to give a burning

response. “Sigh! Why are short people always such a nuisance!” he pondered aloud

as he faced the ground in shame.

“Hey I’m not short! I’m 5’6” and you know it!!” Dean

stated proudly in an effort to preserve his pride.

“And I’m 5’7”; Damien and Conner are 5’8”, and

Luke’s 6’1”! Sigh!! Heck even Stacy and Rosetta are 5’8” and 5’9” between them!!!!

Face it man, you’re a pipsqueak!” Gerard proclaimed in a tone that was both

logical and agreeable, as he dangled half a metre off the ground.

“This is abuse!” Dean muttered to himself as the

feeling of defeat overwhelmed his self-esteem. “Just put me down, I’m too

depressed to run.” He insisted as he flopped to his butt once Luke let him free.

“Finally; sigh! We can get going!!’ Damien let out

like an excited child in a sudden shift of personality upon checking his cell

phone. As both his eyes, as well as the flames and heat he had generated, were

reverted to normal and dissipated. In the process of which he accelerated the

pace at which he was moving, creating a sizeable distance between himself and

everybody else in the group.

  Although

they were all rightfully shocked and uneasy, Dean, Gerard, and Conner, who had

just deactivated his abilities, followed suite after him. Choosing not to

question the shift to avoid quarrels. An effort that failed to account for one

person.

  Finally

broken by all the excessive antics that had transpired that morning, Luke snapped,

snapping his fingers and pulling them all back to him with a large gust of

wind. He opted to hold them in place a few metres off the ground until he could

slowly catch up to them and all get moving at the same pace, eventually putting

them down as their formation filled up the width of the street – with Damien

and Conner at the centre, Dean to Damien’s left, and Luke to Conner’s right. With

Gerard walking cross armed behind his head, ahead of them. As Damien scold

intensely from their slow pace.

“Somebody’s in a rush. Could it be because you wanna

see Stacy so badly?!!” Dean stated suggestively as he gave off a sinister grin.

With his right index finger to his chin, leaning in towards Damien, he began to

make kissy faces and moan exaggeratedly.

  The sudden

and unexpected teasing was more than Damien’s nerves could take, as his

attempts to hide his embarrassment only worked to fuel the laughter and

hysteria that would follow from the group. Which led him to pace faster in an

effort to escape the shame.

“So you didn’t even make a game plan? That’s some

weak shit my man!!” Gerard laughed while he patted Damien’s back as he walked

passed him frantically. Slowing Damien slightly.

“That’s what she said!!!” Luke, Dean, and Conner

said in unisons, as it led to the hysteria they were engulfed in growing

louder.

“I guess great minds think alike!!!” Conner stated,

amused by the shared train of thought.

“What great minds?! I only see the three of you!!”

Gerard delivered almost immediately, shutting them up as he chuckled with

pride.

“Well damn!!” Damien responded as he covered his

mouth in amusement.

“Leave it.” Luke grunted as he rolled his eyes.

“Anyways back to business. So why not just ask her

out at the party tonight?!!” Gerard asked Damien, as his tone was one of

confidence.

“Yeah; cause that’s the bestest chance you can get!”

Dean added on enthusiastically.

“Bruh bestest isn’t a word in the English language?!”

Luke followed up with a look of disgust.

“And wimp ain’t a word in the Wade vocabulary; but

here we are!!!” Dean stated vicariously to drive his point home.

“Sorry man but he’s right!” Conner stated agreeably

as he nodded his head and stroked his chin with his right hand.

“Fine!! I’ll do it alright!” Damien yelled out, as

he finally gave in to their taunts.

“That’s the ‘Moon’ we all know and love!!” Luke

exclaimed proudly as he patted Damien on the shoulder.

“Good call; otherwise I wouldn’t have had a choice.”

Gerard stated optimistically as he smirked sinisterly and looked upward as he

walked.

 “You

wouldn’t?!” Damien responded as the shock filled his face.

“If you forced my hand.” Gerard replied in a snarky

response.

“I’m so lost; what are we talking about??!” Conner

asked in confusion.

“That idiot was planning on turning himself into

that other idiot!!!” Dean explained in a mellow tone as he waved his right

index finger between the two with the roll his eyes.

“Wait, but he’s got an earth nature; plus I didn’t

know he had enough ‘SHI’ for that to begin with!?!” Conner shockingly

exclaimed.

“Well every nature shares the same basic applications,

just different methodologies. Take transformation for example; normally for a

perfect one, you’d need a high enough amount of ‘SHI,’ or ‘Magic Designated

Energy.’ However, by tapping into the basics of your nature you can induce the

temporary creation of ‘VI,’ which would let you apply a transformation by using

your element as a basis!” Gerard explained with an air of enthusiasm.

“So you were paying attention during MR. Ronin’s

classes weren’t you!!?” Luke stated with an air of pride in him.

“Sorta; but my brother filled in most of the gaps

for me!” Gerard chuckled with his right hand behind his head, as he embraced

the positive enforcement.

“Good idiot! Though we both know Rosetta would sniff

you out from a mile away and probably decapitate you for trying to impersonate

her hubby!” Dean replied enthusiastically with a chuckle as everybody fell into

laughter – everybody except Luke, who stared down with an empty smile as they

continued along the route in conversation.

  After a

couple of blocks and some random discussions accompanied by hysterics, the boys

finally made it to their destination. The bus stop where Stacy and Rosetta had

been conversing as they awaited both their, as well as the school bus’s arrival.

Though they were still a bit of a ways off, they were close enough to make out

partial images of one of the girls, as a tree obscured the bench they had been

waiting at.

  Rosetta was

seated on the bench, as she patiently attempted to tie her long pink hair into

a small and manageable bun, as her warm brown eyes seemed to glance back and

forth in anticipation of something. She wore: a black and white checked skirt

that measured to slightly above her knees, a white shirt, a yellow crop top

jacket with two blue suspended strip tags on each side, and a pair of yellow

and black print high-top sneakers that all extenuated her thin, fit pear-like

figure. She sat and listened, as Stacy rambled on about a random topic to pass

the time, agreeing indiscriminately to whatever thought process her older

sister chose to use to justify her mental position.

  While her

violet eyes reflected the early morning sun, they inadvertently acquired a

mesmerising glow that ensured all attention was fixed on them. It was clear

that Stacy was upset about something, as she stood beside Rosetta and leaned on

one of the side posts that held up the shelter’s roof. Although her back, as

well as the soul of her right foot were the only things to make direct contact

with the pole, she still managed to unwind, as she vented out her remaining frustrations

through her ramble, twirling her long black hair with her right index finger to

pass the time. Despite what seemed to be a terrible morning, her style still

managed to somehow merge the various aspects of her personality, shedding light

on her numerous physical and personal traits, as her fit triangular-type build was

not easily matched. She was dressed in: a tight white crop topped shirt with a

black stripe under the right arm and a thigh length skirt to match, a blue crop

topped hoody with the tag ‘Armerdale’s Most Wanted’ pasted over the chest, a

black chocker, and a pair of blue high-topped sneakers. With a netted sleeve on

her right arm and leg, and a netted fingerless glove over her left wrist.

  Rosetta let

out a large sigh of relief, as she finally managed to loop her unruly hair into

a bun. With an intense feeling of satisfaction, she glanced over to Stacy in an

effort to convey the good news, although to her surprise, her attention seemed

to already be preoccupied.

  With an ecstatic

grin on her face, Stacy glanced outward, as her vision fixed in the direction

from which the guys approached.

“Oh; is your boy toy finally here?!” Rosetta leaned

forward to taunt her, as her cheeks turned bright red and she grinned

suggestively.

“Hey you know it isn’t like that, Damien and I are

just friends!” Stacy responded, as she tried to hide the fact that her

heartbeat began to increase rapidly.

“Mmhung Mmhung! Who ever said I was talking about

Damien Wade?!!” Rosetta defended cheekily, as she let out a light chuckle.

“Cause he’s all you ever talk about kiddo!” Stacy

implied with the picking her backpack off the floor as she straightened her

posture and corrected her hair.

  Of course Rosetta

took note of the action as she rose to her feet, stretched her hands above her

head as she proceeded to strap on her side bag. “That’s cause I’m always

routing for you sis!” she said, as she jumped on Stacy’s back and nudged her

towards the oncoming group, which caused Stacy to trip and almost fall over, as

she was caught by Damien on the last second.

“Whoa; lucky I was here hunh?” Damien stated

confidently with a blush on his face as he helped Stacy back to her feet.

“Sigh! I don’t know if luck’s the word I’d use!” Stacy

passive aggressively uttered as she glared daggers at Rosetta, who responded

with a tauntingly satisfied grin, “But thanks anyway!” she stated, as she tried

her best not to stare directly into what she perceived as his piercing eyes.

“Did you really have to push her that hard? ....” Conner

asked enthusiastically as he whispered into Rosetta’s right ear.

“Bold of you to assume I had anything to do with it.

I just have a clumsy older sister that’s all.” Rosetta muttered back as she

attempted to fame appal.

“Right!” Gerard blurted out sceptically with immense

disbelief, “-- And I thought that was supposed to be my line!” He murmured interrogatively.

“Well the beautiful do tend to do as they please

after all.” Luke stated with assurance as he barged into the conversation – as

it resulted in a barely visible blush to emerge on Rosetta’s face at the drop

of his comment.

“If only the flower desired the bee’s pollen….” Dean

whispered laughingly into Gerard’s left ear while the group came together as a

whole to convers. Leaving Conner, who had overheard the conversation, to freeze

with a look of uneasiness on his face.

  The topics

were mostly menial, as they mainly went over their mornings and the previous

day’s assignments – that was, until Luke brought up the fact that it was Damien

and Conner’s birthday.

  Without much

of a warning, Conner felt a strong electric shock run down the back of his

neck, as he felt a strong feminine hand slowly grasp it from behind. With a

slight tilt of his head, his worst fears were verified as he saw her irises

turn neon-white. It was bad – Stacy was out for blood and he was her current

target.

“Shit!! What was that for you crazy She Demon?!!!”

Conner cried out in retaliation as he created some distance between them and

attempted to uncover the source of her rath.

“Don’t get cocky you glorified Refrigerator!! You

knew what you were supposed to do and you blew it!!” Stacy stated angrily in

response, as the electrical build-up generated in her currently heightened

emotional state began to cause her hair to rise up. Helping to enforce the

direness of the situation that was glorified by currents that’s flowed out from

her completely enveloped eye sockets.

“We got here early didn’t we!!?” Conner yelled back

defensively as Damien was blissfully unaware of the reason the two were

bickering.

“You call this early?! You barely missed the freaking

bus!” Stacy replied in a logical tone that helped enforce the validity of her

claim. Slowly but surely aiding to quell her bubbling rath as well. To which Conner

was utterly oblivious.

“Blame Dean, he’s the one who decided to take a cat

nap!” Conner replied nervously, lifting his arms in the air to signify he

wasn’t a threat.

  Stacy

glanced back at Dean with murderous intent as she heard the claim. Though his attempts

to cower behind Rosetta were promptly thwarted as she stepped out of the way.

“C’mon Rosy I thought we was cool; your sis’s gonna

kill me!!” Dean quivered in a panic as everybody else stepped back, clearing a

direct path for Stacy to approach him.

“I get enough of this at home! Time to meet your

maker like a man little dude!!” Rosetta laughed nervously, holding eye contact

with him as she slowly backed away in Stacy’s direction to take cover.

“R.I.P my guy!!” The boys said sympathetically in

unisons as they did a cross prayer ritual and slapped their palms together.

  As Stacy

approached Dean, the static electricity in the air began to build up more,

leading the split ends on everybody’s heads to rise up. It was the feeling of emptiness,

as Stacy grabbed his collar with her right arm and enveloped her left fist in

an electric ball so strong it could stop an elephant’s heart with a single

touch. “You’re dead pipsqueak!” She snarled as she got ready to strike.

  Nevertheless,

although Dean knew that he would most likely survive the impact, the thought of

the intense pain he would have to experience was enough to make him quake in

place. His eyes shook rapidly in his face as he closed his sockets in

anticipation and attempted to pray his way out of it. Lost in thought, he

searched for an answer, going as far as opting to actually seek divine

intervention. “-- Can anybody up there

hear me; Please; I’ll do whatever minimal thing I have to if you toss me a

bone; I’ll even give up gaming for a month!” He thought from the depths of

his mind.

  Just then,

as Stacy was about to strike, a horn was heard that forced them all into action.

From the end of the curve just slightly out of view, the school bus began to

approach. It was a standard yellow school bus, with the tags ‘Voco Technical High

school’ pasted on its sides, as well as a ‘Red Star-like Crest’ over the front

bonnet.

“Power down, it’s time to go!” Luke said

authoritatively as he grabbed Stacy’s hand upon sensing the urgency of the

impending situation.

  Annoyed by

the sudden revelation, Stacy reluctantly powered down, resulting in the static,

as well as everybody’s hair reverting to normal, as Dean breathed a heavy sigh

of relief. “This isn’t over!” Stacy insinuated with an even more violent

undertone as she cracked her neck, knuckles, and stretched her legs with side

lunges.

  Less than

five-seconds later, the school bus pulled into the terminal and they all began

to board. By order of appearance, the first two on-board were Stacy and Gerard,

with Damien and Conner embarking thereafter as the entire bus burst into cheer

and celebration, with the words “Happy Birthday!!” echoing most prevalently. Last

to get on were Rosetta, Dean, and Luke, who had to fight against the swaying of

the bus in order to get to their seats at the rear end.

“Since when are you terrors ever existed for

school?!!” The old bus driver snickered comically to the students as he pushed

a bottom on his dashboard to close the doors and carefully pulled into the

road.

:

:

:

   Christopher

stood alone, calm and collected at the centre of what appeared to be an expansive,

dark and empty conference hall.

“-- Get him out of here!!! -- Yeah this is all your

fault!!! -- You failed your position!!! -- He brings shame to the title of ‘Grand

General’!!! -- Humans should have never been given such powers!!!--” and other

aggressive and dissatisfied taunts could be clearly made out from the abyss

that surrounded him. Though the words weren’t enough to elicit a reaction from

him, the lack of veracity and quick succession of the clams was enough to make

Christopher clench his fist behind his back.

“If the weak are done exercising their traps, I

suggest we return to the matters at hand; how do we plan to handle the sudden

upset in the balance of ‘Divine Authorities’?!” Christopher stated, not showing

any hint of emotion or concern from his demeanour.

“We have reason to believe his primary objectives

will be to seek aid from ‘The Seven Great Demon Households,’ as the ‘Demon

Lords’ that possess the authority of a ‘Sin’ tend to have greater military might!”

A figure from the crowd validated, as their heavy voice commanded a sense of authority

that brought all the background chatter to a halt.

“I see you’re as late to information table as usual

Alexander; although that should be expected from a filthy ‘Arione!’ The

movement in the ‘Demon Domains’ was verified over a month ago. Hence it only

stands to reason that their next target would be ‘The Planet Earth’!!” Another

figure, one situated parallel to the previous, remarked, making their

oppositions clear as their sinister vocal patterns instigated a sense of unrest

as their words sparked further background deliberations from the unseen

audience.

“Silence!!!!” A third figure yelled out, bringing a

stop to all the chatter once more. “This is why my faction suggested we

eradicate the entirety of the ‘Milky-way Galaxy’!! Besides being an eyesore, wiping

the galaxy from the map would effectively take care of a good portion of the

threats that place the universe on the thin line between order and chaos!” The

figure continued to point out, as its tone was simple yet convincing. “As the

head of the ‘C.O.R.E’ and ‘The Council of Light’, it is your responsibility to

do what’s best for the universe as a whole. Regardless of your current

affiliations and allegiances!!!”

“That’s not gonna happen.” Christopher stated,

conveying both authority and bloodlust towards everybody present. “The deal was

that I had 24 hours to handle any attention worthy threats before they became a

council matter, and as far as I can remember, my time doesn’t run out until 6

am tomorrow morning,” He said bluntly as he reached his left arm into his

pocket and used the right to pick his briefcase off the floor, “So unless you

firmly believe you could all take me on at once and live, I highly suggest you

refrain from making any reckless decisions!” Christopher finished off, leaving

the room in a panic and disarray as he lit a lighter and vanished into the

large flame that erupted from it.

“Our

psyches seem to protect us until we’re able to confront the pain, and then the

internal alarm clock rings, telling us it’s time to wake up and go to work” – Hope

Edelman: Motherless Daughters.

  The group

opted to reside in the tail end of the bus, as they were scattered between the

two final rows in an effort to bond with their closest colleagues on the way to

school. Expectedly, it was from this section that the most indiscriminate

chatter could be heard, as hordes of voices echoed and spoke over one another.

  The seating arrangements though appearing

random, were intentionally deliberate as the contents of their discussions had

been planned out prior to the current moment – with the only inhibiting factor

being time as both Damien and Conner were unaware. To the far right window sat

Damien, with Conner taking up the middlemost seat. Rosetta was situated closest

to Damien, as she leaned over him to rest her face on the open window seal,

watching as the many buildings, vehicles, and landmarks blew by.

  Dean sat

in-between Rosetta and Conner as he tried his hardest not to stare at Rosetta’s

hunched over body. A task at which he was just barely successful, as Luke, who

sat to Conner’s left, so helpfully pointed out to Stacy, who took the aisle

seat of the row in front of him, which led her to burst into laughter as she

noticed.

“Ha-hah, you’re such an op!” Gerard chuckled out as

he rested his elbow on the left window seal and placed his chin in his open palm,

proceeding to enjoy the cool wind as it blew in while everybody laughed away.

“Hmmm??! I wonder what that was about?!” Rosetta

blissfully asked a cherry red Damien as she sat back down in her seat,

resulting in him slapping his forehead – an action that only confused her even

more. “Hey c’mon tell me!” she asked persistently as she playfully shook his

shoulder.

“God I wish I was as blissfully unaware as you!”

Lilia, Rosetta’s best friend, as well as being the girl that sat in the aisle

seat ahead of her, stated wishfully as she took off her black spectacles and

held them in her left palm, rubbing her brow with her right hand as she simply

accepted the situation. Her appearance was very subtle, dressing in a white

track suite with white circumscribed-triangle patterns repeated randomly along

the black sleeves of the jacket as well as from the black knees to the ankles

of her track pants, also appearing on the jackets black hood that also mixed in

star-like shapes, a pair of white trainers with black souls, black socks, and a

coral blue wrist watch. Though the factors that really brought her look

together were her brown eyes and short flowing silver hair that radiated with

her thin hourglass trim and darker complexion. “Sigh!! Please never grow up

Zee!” she stated warmly as she pulled a book from the backpack that sat at her

feet and proceeded to start reading it.

“Ok curvatures aside, for the last time I’m not

doing it man!” Damien ecstatically argued with Kiru, one of his closest friends

and the athletic guy who was hunched over in the seat in front of him looking

back.

“Don’t woos out now dude it’s a classic. Plus I’ve

got some serious money riding on this; you can’t let the fans down now!” Kiru

defended persuasively as he bit on one of the chords that hung from the hood of

his opened blue jumper that had the same design as Lilia’s. The only notable

differences in the two’s attire were that Kiru wore a pair of completely black

track pants and a plain black shirt underneath. He squinted as the morning

light reflected off Damien’s open window and shown into his golden eyes,

grunting as he attempted to use his short black wavy hair to protect them and

failed. Which led him to put on the hood as he continued to pressure Damien.

“It’s just way too cringe bruv!! And besides, I

don’t think any girl wants to become the centre of attention at her friend’s

party! And what if I get shot down; then what?!!” Damien said assertively, as

he leaned in to justify his position. “I appreciate the effort and all; but I

don’t think Stacy’d be cool with being blindsided like that!” he continued, as

he leaned back into his seat where he placed his elbow on the widow seal and

proceeded to stare entrancedly out of it.

“I don’t know bro, you’d be surprised how much that

girl loves attention!” Rosetta murmured suggestively, as she playfully slung

her right arm around Damien’s neck and brought him down to chest height, “Your

attention that is!” She spouted as she rubbed her hand through his hair

repeatedly.

  Surprisingly

though, this playful act was enough to snap him out of his funk and restore his

self-confidence. But despite how comforting the thought of the gesture was, he

resolved to escape it upon seeing Kiru and Lilia’s suggestive expressions in

response to it.

“C’mon Zee, the one time I actually prep it!” Damien

pushed back as he pretended to be upset, though his joyfully ecstatic grin gave

him away.

“Hence why I just had to. I mean since when was the

great Damien Wade afraid of anything!! You’re much hotter than that Luscious so

don’t go soft on me!!!” Rosetta stated blushingly as she leaned in to nudge

him, “Hey look at it this way; I wouldn’t mind taking your disfigured face

after she messes you up; that’s what being a second wife’s all about right!!”

she laughed, expressing plausible deniability.

“Bold of you to assume you were even a choice!” Damien

responded with a snarky expression on his face as he leaned back to

exaggeratedly stare at her red cheeks.

“Good point; I’m definitely out of your league!” Rosetta

remarked with a cheery expression on her face as she used her hands to proudly

fix her hair.

“Right!!?” Damien muttered sceptically as he raised his

eyebrow and rolled his eyes, “You’re definitely the attractive one here!” He

said sarcastically as he leaned back onto the window seal and smiled at her.

“Wow man! I never pegged you’d set your sights on

the sister next; turns out homeboy’s got some game!” Kiru joked as he stared at

the two suggestively, as Lilia punched his right thigh with her closed right

fist, taking no time whatsoever from reading her book. “C’mon babe!!! What did

I do?!!!!” he squirmed as he rubbed his leg to relieve the pain.

“You’re this close my love!” Lilia said seriously

while reading her book, as she lifted he right arm to show the small space

between the tips of her thumb and middle finger.

“Yeah right he wishes!” Rosetta stated, asserting

her dominance as she brushed up against Damien’s shoulder and made him blush in

confusion.

  The entirety

of the back rows burst into laughter as Damien tried to pry Rosetta of his

shoulder by pushing her into Dean – as Conner and Stacy bickered about the

earlier incident.

  After a

couple of minutes or so of chaos, the bus arrived at ‘Voco Technical High-School’,

pulling in next to the entrance as all the students reluctantly disembarked – with

the general consensus around the group being terror, as the realisation dawned

on all of them. With the exception being Rosetta.

   She looked

puzzled for a moment, as she slowly realised why her friends gave off an air of

depression. “You guys forgot to do the assignments again didn’t you?!” Rosetta

stated as her concern slowly turned to disappointment.

“Can you be anymore condescending when you say that,”

Luke stated with an offended demeanour, “And besides; the assignments were on

the Third World War and the Phoenix Blood Massacre! Ain’t nobody got time to

read up on all of that!!’ He said with an air of pride and prestige.

“Remind me again how you’re the smartest person in

school?!” Rosetta asked as her bafflement was as clear as day.

“Simple,” Luke uttered proudly, “There’s no point in

studying something you’re gonna be lectured on the next day anyway!” He shrugged

as he walked through the large glass doors that led into the hallway. ”And

besides; Miss V’s hella backed up with her side gig so she’s definitely gonna

space out about it regardless,” He stated as he opened his locker, grabbed a

manga, and stuffed it in his ‘Elemental History’ textbook, “I’ll just sit back

and enjoy some classical reading while my mind does the rest!” he smirked as

they all headed to class on the second floor.

  Upon

reaching the door of the room as he nearly walked in, Conner was grabbed by the

elbow and pulled to the side by a girl who seemed to be distraught.

  The girl

looked shy, as an ecstatic blush ran across her face. Her faded pink baggy

shirt tightened around her waist as a dress, as she wore a bedazzled belt to

accentuate her pear-like petite figure. Her red shoulder length hair

complimented the white trim on her coral blue trainers and red shoulder bag,

ending her attire off with a diamond heart necklace and three diamond bracelets

which hung from her left wrist. With her eyes focused on the floor as she

tugged on his right pinkie finger, the two prompted to walk off to her locker,

which was located just down the hallway, to continue their discussion.

  Knowing he’d

be late, Conner tossed his three books to Stacy who caught them without any need

for foresight. “You better make it a quickie; I’m not bailing your butt out of

this one if Miss Val goes ballistic!” She stated supportively as she took her

window seat by the front of the class.

“It’s always something lewd with you; see that’s why

you still single!!” Conner remarked, as his comment triggered a wave of shock

to sweep through the class, accompanied by some light chuckles from both

parties.

“Hey we need to talk babe!” The girl murmured as

Conner tried to bask in the excellence of his wit.

  Sensing the

increasing tension, Conner thought to break off from her and make his way back

to class – but her gentle grip and sorrowful attitude as she squeezed his

finger convinced him to rethink his approach. Ultimately resolving to see it

through as his consciousness weighed on him and his nerves grew anxious. “Crap,

what do I do now; I mean I can’t leave Mai like this, that’s boyfriend rule

101; but still, is sticking around for whatever bombshell she’s about to drop

really worth it!? God; what would that nincompoop do right now?!--” He thought

to himself while ruffling nervously through his hair as Damien sneezed in the

middle of conversing with Kiru, as his train of thought was cut off by her

snicker. “Crap; I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--!!!” He said frantically in an

attempt to console her by pulling out his handkerchief and wiping her tears off.

“I’m fine; it’s nothing really; you need to get to

class!” Mai spoke sombrely as she rubbed the tears from her eyes.

“You’re terrible at this remember!” Conner said in a

comforting tone as he leaned down and wiped her tears off himself, “So tell me

what’s up; I’m not going anywhere!”

  Miss Breonna

Valerie paused halfway through her lecture, as a depressed Conner made a slight

ruckus when he walked into her classroom. “Forward; you’re late!!” She stated

authoritatively as she put down her textbook and picked up the metre ruler that

rested on her desk. It was clear she was angry, as she loosened her necktie and

rolled up the sleeves of her pantsuit jacket. The calm breeze that blew in from

the still opened door ran across her caffs and thighs, as her skirt only

protected her knees. Her brunette hair was in a bun that morning, clearly a

sign that she would be strict in all her endeavours, as Conner clearly noted

when he made direct eye contact, and her cold red irises stared him down. “Care

to explain yourself?!” She asked as Conner approached the front.

“It was my fault Mam; I had him rush back cause I

forgot something on the bus and I couldn’t find the driver!” Stacy stated respectfully

as she rose from her seat in his defence, leaving Conner surprised by the

sudden act of kindness.

“Even if I were to believe that which I don’t; it

still doesn’t account for the two hours he’s been absent!” Breonna stated as

she gave off an air of scepticism.

“Forgive me Mam!” Conner responded sincerely as both

he and Stacy bowed their heads.

“I promise nothing of the sorts will be repeated

next time!” Stacy added on, as her compliance to defend Conner left the class

mute with suspense.

“It seems you’re dedicated to maintaining the facade

and I admire that; but regardless, the both of you will have to make up for it

with remedial lessons this weekend!” Breonna asserted as she sent Conner to his

seat and let Stacy sit down, “Oh and Conner; please tell Mai I said hello!” She

stated, sending the whole class into a burst of laughter at her awareness.

  As Conner

walked to his seat, he stopped at Stacy’s desk to thank her for her help. “Hey

thanks for that….” He whispered sincerely as he handed her a book with a blank

cover.

“Consider us even!” Stacy remarked as she grabbed

the book and stared out the open window, as whatever she was watching gave her

a gloomy expression.

  Having no

desire to pry in further, Conner shrugged it off as he walked to his seat in

the back of the class. On his way he grabbed a head sock off his dozing

classmate Marco, who sat one seat in front of him, as he took his seat and

buried his face in his crossed arms on his desk. He made no sound as Damien,

who had the window seat to his left, looked on with concern at his current

state.

  He knew

something was bothering him, but opted not to take any action as that could

make his mood spiral even further down. “Hey Dad told me to give you these last

night….” Damien whispered to Conner as he handed him a set of car keys.

“So you’re not gonna ask…?” Conner responded as he

tilted his head slightly to look at him with one eye.

“Do I need to….?” Damien replied as he fixed his

posture and returned to facing Miss Breonna as she continued with the lecture.

“So can anybody tell me why the ‘Phoenix Blood

Massacre’ is considered one of the darkest moments in recorded history?!!!!!”

Breonna posed to the class, as she pointed to the words ‘Travesty’ on the white

board.

  With the

raising of his left hand, Luke proceeded to answer. “It’s because it shines a

light on the naivety of human pride. Simply put, the ‘Phoenix Bloods’ were a

living representation of all the insecurities the various ‘Bloodlines’ faced

when forced to accept the existence of peoples that proved that their confounded

clan prides were nothing but an empty message they fed each other to feel

powerful; so standing back and doing nothing as the last of the pacifistic

bloodlines they discriminated against for no valid reason and wiped out over

the period of a decade, truly went to show how twisted their narrative was!”

Luke stated bluntly, as he took no time away from reading his manga.

“Very good!” Breonna complimented, “Any other

contributions?!!” She stated as multiple hands went up and other students began

to explain their takes on the topic.

  The rest of

the lecture went by like a breeze, as it was pretty uneventful. That being

said, except for the point when Miss Breonna had to leave twenty minutes early

due to a barrage of phone calls she had been receiving during the class, giving

her a notable distain in her demeanour as she departed from the room.

“What was that about?” Gerard asked as he approached

Luke, Damien, Dean, Conner, and Rosetta, and began to stretch from exhaustion.

“Well today is pretty big; honestly I’d be more

worried if she was calm,” Luke asserted as he sat on Damien’s desk and leaned

against the wall, “Never the less though it means we’ve got some free time on

our hands and I know just how to spend it!” He smirked excitedly as he placed

his feet on the table and proceeded to continue reading his manga.

“And that’s why you’re never gonna get any….” Rosetta

whispered seductively as she leaned in from beside his left and kissed his

cheek, leaving Luke awestruck as she left the room clinging to Damien’s left

forearm.

“What was that about?” Damien asked facing her as

the two made their way out of the classroom and onto the staircase.

“Oh nothing; just thought I’d tease him a little!”

Rosetta remarked joyfully as she let go and stretched her arms behind her head,

letting out several grunts of relief as they walked out of the school building

and into the parking lot. “So where’s he supposed to drop them off anyway!?”

She asked as she looked around the full lot to see no available spaces.

“I don’t know; he said they’d be delivered around a

quarter to 1, so they should be here by now?” Damien responded as he checked

the message he had received from Christopher on his locked screen.

“Maybe we ought to--” Rosetta stated as she was cut

off by the sounds of a truck horn on the street behind her.

“I guess that’s the guy!” Damien stated

optimistically as the two exited the school premises and crossed the street to

the adjacent fuel station.

  The delivery

truck was a standard bottle nose eighteen wheeler with a shipping container as

its trolley. Though secure, it also meant that you couldn’t tell what was

inside the trailer until it was opened. Leading the cautiousness of those

around it to grow heavily as they avoided close proximity.

  The driver

stared exhaustedly as he opened his door and stepped out of the high truck,

with the dust from his boots getting kicked up as he landed on the ground. He

was a tall rugged man with dark rooted blond hair and a brunette full beard. He

concealed what appeared to be his extremely exhausted looking eyes behind a

thin pair of really dark sunglasses that seemed to cancel out all the light in

both directions. The pair of grey overalls he wore were rattled with oil stains

and mud patches that ran all across, even reaching the white vest he wore

underneath. Overall, giving the impression that he was not somebody to easily

overlook.

  Regardless,

Damien and Rosetta approached him with confidence, even though they received a

myriad of concerned and frightened looks from the adults and children around

them. With a sigh of disgust, they stared back at them – disappointed on how

they all jumped to conclusions about the man, simply because they had not met

him previously. Though it was understandable, especially when taking into

consideration the recent roamers of a new criminal organization emerging that

kidnapped pedestrians off the streets. But all in all it didn’t matter to them,

as the two had faith that they could most likely get themselves out of any

situation that seemed like trouble – clearly noted by how Damien walked with

his arms tucked into his pockets and unclenched.

“Hey kid; is this shipment yours?!!!” The driver

grunted solidly as he pointed over his shoulder, with his thumb, to the trailer

behind him.

“A bike and a car right; yeah it’s mine!!!” Damien

agreed as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket and pushed a button when two

beeps echoed from inside, proceeding which the driver handed him a signature

pad.

“I’ll never understand how your Dad has got enough

money to blow on unnecessary procedures like this when he’s just an

accountant!” Rosetta stated with appal as she snatched the pad from Damien,

signed it in his place, and handed it back to the driver who proceeded to go to

the back of the trailer and unlock it, stepping firmly out of their view.

“Well important men do have the luxury to forgo the

red lines that limit the rest of us!!!!” The driver yelled in a more open manner

as the doors swung open and slammed into the trailer’s sides, “After all, very

few men can even hope to lay claim to his accomplishments!!!” He uttered as he

left the two dumbfounded.

“Wait; but I thought you were a--” Damien questioned

as he looked on dumbfounded whilst the driver pulled down the ramp and

offloaded the bike.

“C’mon kid; the boss is many things; but trusting of

random strangers isn’t one of them!” The driver interjected as he stepped back

in to push the car out. “Though if you ask me; it’s cause of what happened

between him and the ‘Forsaken One’! No one should have to live through that

kind of hell!!” The driver grunted in a posttraumatic tone as he got back into

his truck and closed the door.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!!” Rosetta asked with

frightened curiosity.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself about for now

kid!” The driver responded as he leaned his head out of the window and side

glanced at her – revealing his glowing turquoise irises with a moving white

Mobius strip where his pupil should have been.

  Rosetta

jolted back in shock, though having no idea why she had just gone into high

alert, as the driver started his engine and slowly pulled into the street. Her

feelings of uneasiness only grew further as she watched him drive off and

recalled a meeting she had overheard through the door between her father and a

feminine figure as they discussed somebody referred to as ‘The Forsaken One’.

“Hey; are you okay?!!” Damien asked as he shook

Rosetta’s shoulder and snapped her out of her trawls.

“Yeah, I’m good; just clearing my head a little that’s

all!” Rosetta grinned nervously as she tried to shake the feeling; “Why; what

were we talking about?!” She asked, taking more strained breathes by each

passing moment.

“Easy….” Damien whispered calmly as he held her

shoulder and calmed her down, “I was just asking if you could give Conner a

ring and let him know to come drive the car in.” He said patiently as he held

his keys around his right index finger.

“No need!!” Rosetta stated cheerfully in a shift of

personality, “I already got them!” She said as she pulled the keys from her

pocket and grinned for a compliment.

“Oh cool; so you can take it inside!” Damien

responded as he ignored her request for a compliment.

“Nah I’m sick of the car; give me the bike

instead!!!” Rosetta scowled as she animatedly tried to grab the keys out of

Damien’s hand as he held them out of her reach.

“Next time!! Or maybe when they’re less things you

could destroy around us!!!” Damien stated un-ecstatically as her jumping caused

him to shake slightly.

“Fine!! I wanted to go anyways!!!” Rosetta remarked,

still scowled as she puffed her cheeks proudly and walked to the car’s right

hand driver’s seat.

  Besides its

impressive exterior, the car was really something to marvel at in its chrome

neon blue trim. It was a high performance hyper-car hybrid with a sedan build

that looked like something straight out of a concept car catalogue. It had an

elongated engine compartment and a short trunk that were perfectly stream lined

by the two large openings on the edges of the forward and rear bumpers,

finalizing the vents with the small elongated opening that stretched from the

front to the back. The platinum coloured grill had a staircase design, one that

matched the partial fenders that protruded outward going forward with a design

that resembled claws, as the spaces along them at the front emphasized –

letting the driver get a perfect view of the wide seventeen inch low-profile

tires is condition without need to step out. Its front lights resembled the

squinted eyes of a dragon as the indicators trailed along their edges and the

large indented fog lights that were smaller by the tips grew larger as they got

closer to the central vet and almost touched the grill. The standard rear view

mirrors were instead replaced with thin elongated cameras that had strip-light

indicators along their front and transmitted their feed to screens that sat on

the ends of the dash board. The sides of the vehicle slightly protruded along

the middle of the doors to give them an even more stream lined design. The doors

in particular were forwards and backwards opening butterfly doors respectfully,

with the driver’s doors being longer than the passengers. The interior was very

spacious, with the control board running in between the driver and passenger

seat and contained a modified stick shift handle at its centre, along with

various knobs and dials that served different functions as it slopped up to the

touch screen radio and joined the dashboard. The steering wheel had both volume

and mode functions, with paddle shifters on the side, as well as an analogue

and holographic dashboard. Despite all these features, the rear was still very

spacious, capable of fitting three incredibly large and tall individuals.

Finally, the back of the car was what looked most aggressive, as the various

bends and streams contorted with the lights to give them a more curved and

balanced appearance as they slightly protruded from the body. Bringing it all

together with the large diffuser that was decorated with protruding vertical

lines and adjacent openings on each side for its twin aftermarket exhausts that

spat flames every time the gears changed.

  Regardless,

the bike was nothing to scoff at either, as it too looked like something out of

a concept catalogue. It was a superbike – or rather a hyper bike hybrid that

incorporated a myriad of varied designs to produce a machine of pure velocity. It

had two wide eighteen inch tires with closed ash black rims with small dots

along their edges that concealed the rotor, caliper and brake line. It had

three fork tubes, each connecting to the centre of the other – with the main

running from the wheel to the front, the second from the centre of the first to

the side fairing, and the third concealed by the fairing itself. It had two

intake ducts on each side of its face, with a cross hatched design that matched

the front fender. The face also portrayed aggression, as the central light

resembled two squinted eyes that nearly joined at the centre – separated by a

platinum coloured strip that ran up till the tip of the blacked out wind

screen, giving it a divided look as it gave a display inside like a screen. The

bar end and throttle grip were protected by a suspended smart gyroscopic-like

glove pad that used the sense of the fingers tilting up to engage the brakes. Its

dashboard was holo and registered the performance of all its parts, along with

some other functions that laid behind a locked screen icon. The rearset and

brake pedals were encapsulated in an attachment that ran from the sub frame to

the bottom of the lower fairing and served to protect the legs from any damage

when making sharp high speed turns, as it was not only flexible and adaptive to

stimuli, but retractable as well, with the three mufflers on each end

protruding ever so slightly and spiting flames at the change of a gear, as the

cowl cover had a thin rectangular exhaust protruding from within it.

  Rosetta

stared on at the bike with wishful eyes as she opened the door of the car and

got into the driver’s seat. Though she was a bit too short and had to readjust

the seat, the vehicle fit her like a glove, as her seat purred heavily once she

turned the key and put it into drive. “Hey; what’s the assault mode for?!!” She

asked Damien, who sat on the bike, as she slide down the passenger window and

pointed to the knob on the control board next to the gear lever.

“Let’s just say that it’s not something you’d wanna

try in an area filled with people you wanted alive!!” Damien replied with haste

as he put on his gloves and turned the bike on with a wave of his palm.

  Upon revving

the engine to check its condition, a loud crackle shot through the confined

building gaps of the streets passageways. Instantly alerting the rest of the

group that it was nearly time for departure as the bike pulled into the parking

lot, and the car there after it.

“Well that should’ve been loud enough!” Damien said

as he and Rosetta parked and began to await the sound of the final school bell.

  As the bell

rang and everybody began to exit the school building in swarms, Rosetta thought

to herself as she leaned on the hood of the car and her expression grew

concerned. “I still can’t shake it; who the hell was that guy? And better yet;

what did he mean by the ‘Forsaken One’? Nothing about this feels right!!” She

thought as the look of realization hit her face and the shock left her stunned.

It was as though she was hit by a wave of despair and resentment at the same

time, as her vision narrowed and the world around her began to spin. And

although she tried to hide it, the feeling of vertigo was more than her mind

could take, causing her to slouch forward as she gripped her forehead in pain.

“Rose--!!!” Stacy cried out in a panic as she

dropped her bag and rushed to Rosetta, barely unable to finish calling out her

name as she dashed to her aid leaving everybody else in a daze as Damien caught

her just before she could topple over. “What happened?!!” She yelled in a

concerned rant as she and Damien helped Rosetta back onto the hood and checked

her temperature with the backs of their hands.

“Here take this!” Gerard called as he pulled a two

litre water bottle from his bag and handed it to Stacy, who held it as Rosetta

drunk the entire thing.

“Pha!! Thanks; that feels a little better!” Rosetta

thanked them whole heartedly as she pretended nothing was wrong by letting out

a large grin and lazily waving her arms at chest height. Though it was clearly

an empty one as everybody could tell.

“Cut the crap!!! What was the trigger this time?!!!”

Damien said demandingly as he grabbed her left wrist with his right arm and

glared at her worryingly.

“It’s cool, I’m serious!” Rosetta responded as she

tried to ease his nerves.

“It was that guy wasn’t it!!” Damien implied as he

clenched his left fist.

“What guy?!” Conner asked in an attempt to get more

information on the situation.

“Nobody!! He was just a delivery man!” Rosetta

stated in an attempt to divert their interests.

“Not with eyes like that!!” Damien stated as he

discarded her wrist as he took a breath and cracked his knuckles “Everything

was fine until he brought up somebody my Dad used to know; some guy called ‘The

forsaken one’!!”

  A moment of

silence went by, as the strange title resonated with each one of them, though

they were unable to understand why – that is, all except Luke.

“You mean ‘The Kin Slayer’!!!” Luke mumbled

fearfully as the weight of his words weighed heavily on his heart.

“Don’t even joke about that!” Stacy said in a grunt

as she scowled at Luke – but before she could move, Dean beat her to the punch.

“What the Hell!!!” Dean yelled as he grabbed Luke’s

collar aggressively and pulled him in, “I thought you were smarter than

that!!!!” He screamed as Luke froze with shock and the people around them

stopped and stared.

“Guys; this isn’t the place!” Damien said calmly

with authority as he turned his back to them and glared at the forming crowd.

“Tsk!! You aren’t even worth it right now!” Dean

stated as he let go of Luke and pushed him back.

“We’ll be late if we don’t get going!” Conner imposed

optimistically in a shift of tone as he approached Rosetta and got the keys out

of her hand.

“Then I guess Stacy’s with me!” Damien stated in his

usual tone as he pressed the seat of his bike and two helmets came popping out,

handing her the red one as he put on the black.

“No way; I already called dibs last night!!” Rosetta

objected as she rose to her feet and tried to get the red helmet with her left

hand.

“You’re in no condition!” Conner said as he grabbed

her wrist just before she could reach it, “Just take shotgun for now!!” He smiled

as he masked his concern.

“Fine whatever!!” Rosetta pouted animatedly as she

forcefully pulled her wrist back and went to take her seat, glaring out the

window in disappointment.

“Really making the tallest guy take the back; this

is some abuse!!” Luke complained as he bent down to enter the backseat.

“Just get in there!!” Dean laughed as he kicked him

to the middle and took the left window seat, with Gerard taking the right as

Conner let it run.

“Let’s go ladies; time’s a-wasting!!!!” Conner

yelled out of his window to Damien and Stacy as they got on, as he honked the

horn and revved the engine.

“Whatever; we’re still gonna get there first!!”

Stacy yelled back cockily as she dropped her visor and put her arms around

Damien’s waist as he stated the engine.

“Hunh!! As if!!” Conner responded as he pulled out

rapidly and took off into the street.

“Hey; you think she’s gonna be--?” Stacy asked

sombrely as she leaned her head on Damien’s back and gripped his waist tightly.

“She’s stronger than you think y’know; so take it

easy!” Damien mumbled reassuringly as he faced straight ahead, “For now, let’s

worry about showing Conner whose boss!!” He grinned as he gripped the

accelerator and the two took off in a wheelie.

  Conner was

doing 190km/h on the freeway when Damien and Stacy zoomed passed them, as they

swerved between cars and trucks to take the lead.

“Ah nah!!” Conner stated with a chuckle as he turned

a knob on the control board next to the radio and pushed it in. An action that

caused the windshield to blackout and become digital as a hologram projecting

‘Afterburners Active’ appeared.

  The rear

rang with mechanical noises as each set of twin exhausts expanded and fused

into one, creating a singular exhaust pipe on each side with a compressed

nozzle, as a stream of neon blue gas shot out of them that rapidly accelerated

the car forward with a loud rapture – barely a moment passed as they caught up

to Damien and Stacy and surpassed them with a large margin as the freeway let

out into a desert road with seldom any vehicles on it.

“Hold on!!!” Damien yelled to Stacy through the ferocious

wind as he placed his hands over the brake glove and pressed them down until

they clicked, triggering a shell to emerge from the back that covered them and

went into the now expanded sub frame and lower fairing – completely concealing

the two underneath as its interior turned digital and a hologram reading ‘Jet

burn Deployed’ appeared.

  With a short

hollow whistle, all exhausts on the bike spat out a red streak, as the bike

thundered down the road and caught up to Conner and the rest. As the two

continued to trade the first and second positions throughout their 812km

journey for the remaining 1 hour and 6 minutes. Not taking into account the

amount of swerving and manoeuvring they had to do to avoid pot holes and

oncoming traffic.

“You know maybe I should have driven instead!!”

Rosetta stated frantically as she held on to the arm rail and tried to avoid

swaying with the turns.

“C’mon; we’re almost there!!!” Conner stated

optimistically, as the sense of competition had his eyes fixed on the road

ahead of them.

“I should’ve written a will!!!” Gerard cried out

nauseously as he pulled a brown paper bag from the bag at his feet and puked in

it. Staying still as any slight movements he made turned his face green and

caused him to upchuck more.

“Just keep it in the bag!!” Luke yelled as he

scooted away from Gerard and into Dean, who tried to push him back and the two

struggled.

  As a right

gravel road came into view ahead and Damien and Stacy turned down it, Conner

saw an opportunity to reclaim the lead, as he veered onto the rough patch and

pressed on the acceleration pedal further.

“What the heck!!! Warn us first!!!” Rosetta stated

as they all lifted slightly off their seats and slammed back down, while Conner

tried to control the sliding the car did on the sand patch.

“No time!!” Conner cried back in his defence, as the

many bumps and ridges they went over caused them all to bounce around – all

excluding Dean, who sat firmly in his seat and didn’t nudge even slightly.

“We could die you know!!!” Luke yelled out in

protest as Gerard’s nausea got worse.

“You’re exaggerating! See; Dean is just fine!!”

Conner said in a poor attempt to persuade them.

“That’s a terrible example!!!” Gerard cried out in

between his pukes.

“Yeah!! How dare you use somebody who can absorb

vibrations as a justification!!!!” Luke cried passionately as he pointed his

right index finger at Conner in appal – who shrugged it off as even though he

drove faster, he couldn’t catch up.

“My possible death aside! I’ve been meaning to ask

you Dean; how exactly can you control vibrations? Is it a nature thing or?”

Rosetta asked inquisitively in a curious tone.

“Hmmm?!!” Dean shrugged as he crossed his arms,

leaned back, and had a hundred mile stare out the window. “Sigh! I don’t know

exactly.” He replied calmly, faming his disinterest in the topic.

“How so?!” Rosetta inquired further.

“Something with my Mom I guess. My nature is

unreadable; and whenever I try to ask my Sisters or any of my Mom’s old friends

about it, they never give me a straight answer!” Dean reluctantly stated as he

bit his tongue to avoid feeling any emotion about it.

“Have you tried to ask Miss Valerie or Mrs Wade

about it? I mean they helped me with my powers; so I’m sure they could do the

same with you!” Rosetta insisted optimistically as Dean’s mood began to shift.

“You think they’d really?!!” Dean asked cautiously

as he tried to avoid feeling unnecessary hope.

“Sure man!!!! And if my Mom doesn’t; then I’m sure

my Dad’d love to just to spite her!!!” Conner added on, further helping to

affirm the claim, “Though it’d have to be some time after the party!!!”

“Thanks!” Dean said sincerely as he tried to mask

his joy, resulting in a light blush appearing on his cheeks.

“Awwwr; how cute!!!” Rosetta giggled as she watched

him through the rear view mirror – just before the car hit a large thud.

“Brace yourselves!!!!!” Conner loudly informed them

as Damien and Stacy vanished into a large stone arc that had a rock through its

centre, “It’ll be close!!!” He cried frantically as the car’s front wheel hit

another thud. Causing it to spin uncontrollably as they smacked into the

boulder and phased through it. Briefly noticing what seemed to be a road that

flowed through a spinning rainbow coloured space as they fell unconscious.

  Upon

awaking, Rosetta, Dean, Luke, Gerard, and Conner found themselves perfectly

fitted in one of the several lane spaces that made up an expansive parking lot.

One that measured several acres.

“Hah I hate that gate!!” Conner grunted irritably as

he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his left index finger and thumb.

“Remind me again why your Mom had to make it that

way!!?” Rosetta asked nauseously as she stepped out of the car and hunched over

the door to take a breath.

“It’s to keep out people with malicious intent!!!”

Luke yelled calmly from inside the car as he kicked a stubborn Dean out the

door and stepped out.

“So you guys finally made it hunh!!” Stacy said as

she and Damien approached them with bottles of water and visor caps, “Took you

long enough!! Guess we win!!!!”

“How did you guys--?” Gerard asked with

disorientation as he ran off to a nearby bush to vomit.

“I’ll go help him before he passes out!” Luke lifted

his right arm reluctantly and his sleeve as he walked to assist Gerard.

“Should we?” Stacy asked nervously as she pointed to

Gerard.

“Nah; he’ll be fine!” Damien shrugged as he waved

his wrist to forget about it. “So what’s up; you guys look half dead!!” He

laughed as he looked at their condition.

“I just wanna know how you guys had the time to get

all those supplies; we were literally seconds apart?!!” Rosetta asked as she

found it harder to suppress the urge to puke.

“Time dilation remember! I told you guys my Mom was

planning to increase the temporal window last night.” Damien said as he pulled

a chocolate candy from his pocket and threw it to Rosetta, snapping her back to

normal as she caught it over her shoulder and put it in her mouth.

“Mmmh!!!! So much better!!!!!” Rosetta squealed with

a blushing face as she sucked on the chocolate, before she noticed that

everybody was staring at her and trying not to laugh. “Ehem!! Back to business!

So shall we go in?!!” She said leading the charge through the massive entrance

billboard that read ‘WELCOME TO THE R3K (A.K.A THE LOST CITY)’.

“Shall we?!” Stacy said chivalrously as she curtsied

and stretched her right arm out to Damien.

“I think we shall!!” Damien replied with absolute

dignity as he caught her hand, raised her to her feet, and the two walked in

together hand in hand.

:

:

:

:

:

“So it was that bad hunh?!” Breonna stated

pessimistically over the phone as she sat in her office with all the windows

closed and the monitor face on.

“We can’t afford to take chances on this anymore; that

means--!” The static but authoritative yet cautious voice on the other end of

the call said.

“I’m aware of the strategy!” Breonna interjected

numbingly, “But just so you know; the ‘Anarchy General' won’t be a fan!!” She

stated with complete conviction.

“It doesn’t matter what Monica thinks; as long as

she doesn’t get a say in the matter then its fine!” The voice responded, making

their convictions known as well.

“Whatever you say sir!!” Breonna responded casually

with the utmost respect, “Oh and Christopher; you better come home to your wife

and kids tonight!!!” She stated, with intense hostility.

“See you later Breonna!!” Christopher said in a much

more clear tone, as we saw him standing in a long dimly lit metallic corridor

as he stared up to a painting out of view. “And I plan to end this quickly!” He

stated as he gritted his teeth and all the remaining light bubbles surged and

exploded.